The Trinity health center is a 150-bed, non-commercial facility situated in the heart of town that offers a comprehensive range of medical, surgical, and health issue mitigation services to the surrounding area’s residents. Here is a link to a recent community health needs assessment completed by the hospital only a few days ago. Aspects of central service zone cancer, orthopedic, and cardiovascular care were investigated as part of the study. The data for the review was gathered via epidemiological surveys, state rules, interviews with physicians, and community focus groups, among other sources.
Risk Factors
The assessment of community health needs revealed several risk factors in cancer, orthopedic, and cardiovascular services, which were considered. Oncology Services: Demand for oncology services is predicted to increase by around 34% over the next five years. As a result of population aging, it is expected that 15% of the population will be over the age of 65 during the next five years (Bartlett & Siola, 2014, p. 945). According to current studies, cancer is anticipated to affect 50% of men and 33% of women at some time in their lives.
Also emphasized is that the community’s current cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment resources are severely underused. According to state planning data, physician offices have reached their maximum capacity, and the equipment and technology used to treat diagnosed patients are no longer suitable. Increasing the number of linear accelerators, chemo units, operating rooms, and advanced imaging equipment is critical for the population’s health.
Finally, a lack of coordination between the scheduling of patients’ tests, treatments, and other services has been recognized as a risk factor. There is a lack of community cancer prevention and control activities and a shortage of educational options Cancer screening methods are needed in the community. However, they are currently unavailable or almost non-existent. These procedures should be made available to the general public.
Orthopedic Services: The need for orthopedic treatments is expected to rise dramatically during five years. Overall demand for orthopedic cases is predicted to grow by 46 percent, inpatient joint and spine treatments by 30 percent, and outpatient joint and spine surgeries by an astonishing 350 percent, according to the poll.
Similar to the risks connected with cancer services, the risks associated with orthopedic services include the likelihood that existing resources, physicians, and hospitals may not fulfill the increasing demand for the services (Slubowski, 2021, p. 162). According to statistics from the state’s planning agency, an increase in the number of physicians will be necessary to meet the increased demand. Aside from a rise in the number of physicians, there will be an increase in the need for imaging equipment, surgical suites, and enhanced physical and rehabilitation capacity. Given the significant increase in the number of patients who may need orthopedic treatments in the future, there is a risk of not having enough patient care coordinators to organize appointments to fulfill service demand. Furthermore, present educational activities focusing on accident prevention and healthy lifestyles will be insufficient to keep up with the changes.
Cardiovascular Services: Cardiovascular treatment demand is predicted to skyrocket in five years. The prevalence of coronary artery disease will climb by 21.6 percent, as will diagnostic catheterization procedures. The need for cardiovascular treatment is expected to rise in the next five years. A study predicts a 21.6 percent increase in coronary artery disease over the next five years, with 22% increases in diagnostic catheterization and 25.7 percent increases in angioplasties (Edwards et al., 2020, p. 53). A shortage of catheterization laboratories, surgical suites, and cardiac rehab capacity also jeopardize the delivery of cardiovascular therapy. A shortage of patient care coordinators is also a matter of worry. Finally, a lack of educational programs on preventive and lifestyle modification is concerning.
Addressing Needs
Trinity Town Hospital acknowledges that to compete with the community’s two current hospitals, they must also achieve the criteria outlined in the community health needs assessment and meet other requirements. The hospital has a few orthopedic surgeons and cardiologists on staff but no cancer experts. The hospital is aware that it lacks structured oncology, orthopedic, or cardiology department. At the moment, Trinity Community Hospital does not have any permanent oncologists, even though a limited number of oncologists are interested in working there. Apart from that, the hospital now lacks chemotherapy nurses and units, despite having an MRI machine and a portable PET scanner, operating two days a week. At the moment, these kinds of technologies are only accessible to per diem doctors, who may see a restricted number of patients each visit. Apart from that, even though all area hospitals provide cancer treatment programs, only a few coordinators coordinate treatment plans for everyone who requires them. As a result of the scarcity of coordinators, the patient’s whole treatment process is chaotic and fragmented. The research concludes by stating that insufficient preventative initiatives are accessible to assist patients in their areas.
Chiropractic: Trinity Community Hospital recognizes that it lacks the orthopedic treatments required by the community. Despite the hospital’s expertise of orthopedic experts, procedures are few and far between. To attract more doctors and improve patient flow, the hospital needs to increase its operating rooms and imaging technologies. Trinity Community Hospital today only has adequate equipment to provide essential orthopedic treatments such as x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and CT scans.
Currently, Trinity Community Hospital can only provide consultations in cardiovascular illness due to a staffing lack of cardiologists. Patients who need cardiac surgery or cardiac catheterization will be sent to a third-party hospital. Because both of Trinity Community Hospital’s rivals can offer comprehensive cardiac care, the great majority of the community’s patients elect to seek treatment at one of these institutions rather than at Trinity Community Hospital. It is a significant source of concern for Trinity Community Hospital since it fails to satisfy community needs and has a detrimental influence on its revenue.
Health Planning Summary
Trinity Community Hospital embarked on a strategic planning process to establish better oncology, orthopedic, and cardiac care. Trinity Community Hospital developed three plans to serve its patients in the future for all three services that are anticipated to be needed in the community. These efforts include creating one-of-a-kind clinical programs and services, promoting cancer prevention and control, and extending service accessibility. The Hospital’s oncology programs will include multidisciplinary, disease-focused breast, gastrointestinal, lung, and prostate clinics. Orthopedic treatments at the facility will encompass spine, total joint, hand care, and comprehensive rehabilitation frameworks and support policies and treatment methodologies. Cardiovascular services at the hospital will include heart issues, electrophysiology aspect, cardiology in women context, and evidence-based mitigation.
Trinity Community Hospital’s three service lines of cancer, orthopedics, and cardiovascular initiatives will offer community awareness, screening policies, risk assessment, and specialized services for marginalized communities. Trinity will increase patient access to services by expediting scheduling, improving patient navigation, and coordinating services. This approach will also be used in the oncology, orthopedic, and cardiovascular service lines. Overall, I believe Trinity Community Hospital is doing its best to satisfy the community’s needs based on the assessment by implementing each plan that emphasizes prevention and control and, eventually, providing patients with extended service access.
References
Bartlett, J. M., & Siola, P. L. (2014). Implementation and first-year results of an antimicrobial stewardship program at a community hospital. American journal of health-system pharmacy, 71(11), 943-949.
Edwards, F. J., Wicelinski, R., Gallagher, N., McKinzie, A., White, R., & Domingos, A. (2020). Treating opioid withdrawal with buprenorphine in a community hospital emergency department: an outreach program. Annals of emergency medicine, 75(1), 49-56.
Slubowski, M. (2021). Michael A. Slubowski, FACHE, President and CEO, Trinity Health. Journal of Healthcare Management, 66(3), 160-164.